Dear Strand,

I am writing this with a heavy heart.

The recent mass shooting in Lwandle, where ten people lost their lives and eleven others were injured, has forced many of us to confront a pain we know too well, the pain of losing people before they have had the chance to fulfil their dreams.

I have personally lost friends, business partners and people from the creative industry far too early. Some modelled for Blvck Africa and can still be seen on our website and social media. Others supported the brand behind the scenes, shared our work, introduced us to people and believed in the vision.

Those photographs are no longer only campaign images. They are memories of real people who stood beside me.

They were artists, models, entrepreneurs, friends and supporters. They had ideas they still wanted to pursue, families they wanted to provide for and contributions they still wanted to make. Their lives mattered, and their absence is felt in ways that cannot always be explained.

When we lose a friend, we lose the conversations, laughter, memories and plans that belonged only to us.

Strand is more than the beach, people see from the outside. It is Lwandle, Nomzamo and the surrounding communities. It is home to workers, families, musicians, photographers, designers, models and young entrepreneurs trying to create something meaningful with limited opportunities.

There is so much talent here. There are people building businesses from their bedrooms, making music and starting businesses with whatever equipment they can find. There are young people who want more for themselves and their families.

But too many of them are not being given the opportunity to grow old.

Violence does not only take a life. It takes knowledge, potential, leadership and the future that person was building. It leaves families grieving, businesses unfinished and communities afraid.

We cannot continue accepting this as normal.

This letter is not only about grief. It is also about remembrance.

To everyone we have lost: you were here. You mattered. You contributed to our lives and helped shape who we are.

To the friends and models whose faces remain part of Blvck Africa: your photographs will always represent more than clothing. They represent a moment in time when we created something together. They remind us of your energy, your belief and your presence.

To the families affected by the Lwandle shooting, we offer our deepest condolences.

To those who survived, we wish you strength and healing.

To the artists, entrepreneurs and young people of Strand: please continue creating. Continue building, supporting and believing in one another. Our community needs your ideas, your courage and your leadership.

We deserve streets where young people can dream without fear.

We deserve spaces where people can gather, celebrate and return home safely.

We deserve justice, accountability and a future in which losing someone young is not treated as an ordinary part of life.

For every person we have lost, every family carrying grief and every dream that was left unfinished, we remember you.

You will always be part of our story.

For Strand, For the Youth, For every life and every unfinished dream.

Blvck Africa